Congregation Beth Israel

Front: Around 1910 a group of Jewish families began to meet for Orthodox services in their homes and rented halls around Greenville. Within two years these recent Eastern European immigrants hired Charles Zaglin as their rabbi and kosher butcher. Congregation Beth Israel was incorporated in 1916 and was Greenville’s earliest chartered Jewish organization. The first synagogue was built on Townes Street in 1929. Reverse: In 1957 Beth Israel, which affiliated with the Conservative movement in 1954, began construction of its second synagogue. The campus was built in two stages, with the Davis Social Hall, classrooms, and offices built in the first stage. By 1970 the second stage, including a chapel donated by the Heller family, was completed. Max Heller was a past president of Beth Israel and mayor of Greenville, 1971 to 1979.